Supply-Chain Issues Lengthened Single-Family Build Times in 2022

The 2022 Survey of Construction (SOC) from the Census Bureau shows that the average completion time of a single-family house is around 9.6 months — almost six weeks longer than what the average completion time was in 2021 — reflecting supply-side challenges and skilled-labor shortages that persisted throughout the year.

Houses built for sale required the shortest amount of time — 8.9 months from obtaining building permits to completion — while custom builds required the longest time (13.4 months). Homes built by hired contractors normally needed around 11.3 months, and homes built for rent took about 11.6 months.

The average time from authorization to completion also varies across divisions. The division with the longest duration was New England (12.6 months), followed by the Middle Atlantic (11.8 months), the Pacific (10.8 months), the East South Central (10.1 months) and East North Central (9.7 months) in 2022, all of which were higher than average.

The average waiting period from permit to construction start varies between 24 days in the East North Central to 47 days in South Atlantic.

NAHB Principal Economist Na Zhao provides more permitting and sales data in this Eye on Housing post.